Principle Nine All Religions

Buddhist

Source 1:

Contemporary Buddhist Teacher Robert Thurman writes:

“Buddhism is all about science. If science is the systematic pursuit of the accurate knowledge of reality, then science is Buddhism. Buddhism is science.”

 

Christian

Source 1: Anglican teaching on ‘Authority’ https://stjamesgreeneville.org/worship/scripture-tradition-reason/

In the Episcopal Church, we are called to live out our faith on a daily basis, whether we are at home, school, work, or recreation. The building blocks of our faith are Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.

Scripture
Holy Scripture is the word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The 39 books of the Old Testament contain the story of God’s love and God’s redemption of God’s people from creation up to the birth of the Christ (Jesus of Nazareth). The Old Testament contains the laws God gave to the Hebrew people. The New Testament contains the story of Jesus’ life and teachings, the accounts of his life as told by his followers (found in 4 gospels) and the beginning of the church [ekklesia or community of believers] and letters from early church leaders to the ekklesia. The New Testament is contained in 27 books. Within a worship service in the Episcopal Church, lessons from scripture are read from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Gospel (the story of the life of Jesus), the Psalms (ancient songs from the Old Testament). Additionally, the prayers, rites, and rituals included in the Book of Common Prayer, mostly come directly from the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

Tradition
As followers of Jesus, we are part of the living faith of the Jesus Movement that spans 2,000 years. The community received from Jesus’ disciples and apostles became the church. Tradition is the embodiment of our experience as Christians throughout the centuries. The heart of our tradition is expressed through the Bible, statements of faith (called the Creeds – written in first centuries of the church’s existence), the Sacraments (vehicles of God’s grace including the Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist), and the ordained ministry passed in apostolic succession by Jesus’ original followers to his Church. Our tradition is expressed with many voices, among which are a variety of worship styles, languages, cultures, architecture, and music. Our tradition encourages this diversity. We seek to value the life and story each person can bring to the community of faith. As in a multi-textured tapestry, each person’s offering is woven into the life of the whole, making it stronger and more beautiful.

Reason
The gift of Reason, as a complement to Scripture and Tradition, leads us to seek answers to our questions and to grow spiritually. Being active in a community of faith strengthens us to carry our faith into the world. Weaving Scripture, Tradition, and Reason together, our faith is strengthened as we grow in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Jewish

Source 1: Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, Part 2, Chapter 8

Our Sages have, in this astronomical question, abandoned their own theory in favour of the theory of others. Thus, it is distinctly stated, “The wise men of other nations have defeated the wise men of Israel.” It is quite right that our Sages have abandoned their own theory: for speculative matters every one treats according to the results of his own study, and every one accepts that which appears to him established by proof.

 

Muslim

Source 1:  Quran Sura 99 vv 6-8:

When Earth is shaken with her quaking

And Earth sheds forth its burdens

And Man asks, ”What ails her?”

That day she will relate her news (i.e. her state of being)

Because her Lord inspired her

On that Day people will be brought forth in groups to be shown their deeds. And whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.

 

Source 2: Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modem Man”

Man wants to dominate nature not only for economic motives but also for a ‘mystique’ which is a direct residue of a one‑time spiritual relation vis‑a‑vis nature. Men no longer climb spiritual mountains ‑ or at least rarely do so. They now want to conquer all mountain peaks. They wish to deprive the mountain of all its majesty by overcoming it‑preferably through the most difficult fine of ascent. When the experience of flight to the heavens, symbolized in Christianity by the spiritual experience of the Divine Comedy and in Islam by the nocturnal ascension (al‑mi’rגj) of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) is no longer available to men, there remains the urge to fly into space and conquer the heavens. There is everywhere the desire to conquer nature, but in the process the value of the conqueror himself, who is man, is destroyed and his very existence threatened.

Rather than man deciding the value of science and technology, these creations of man have become the criteria of man’s worth and value.

 

Religions of India

Source 1: Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Adi Lila 9,42-43

etāvaj janma-sāphalyaṁ

dehinām iha dehiṣu

prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā

śreya-ācaraṇaṁ sadā

“It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words.”

prāṇinām upakārāya

yad eveha paratra ca

karmaṇā manasā vācā

tad eva mati-mān bhajet

‘By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and in the next.’